Bismarck (Civ4)
Otto von Bismarck (1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a Prussian statesman and the first Chancellor of Germany. General Info Bismarck leads the Germans in Civilization IV. Unique Unit: Panzer Unique Building: Assembly Plant Starting Techs: Hunting, Mining AI Traits Bismarck is one of the leaders who will plan wars when pleased. *Strategy: military (10). *Favourite religion: Christianity. *Wonder Construct random: 30 (from 0 to 50). *Base Attitude: 1 (from -1 to 2). *Base Peace Weight: 6 (from 0 to 10). *Warmonger Respect: 1 (from 0 to 2). *Espionage Weight: 120 (from 50 to 150). *Refuse To Talk War Threshold: 8 (from 6 to 10). *No Tech Trade Threshold: 5 (from 5 to 20). *Tech Trade Known Percent: 70% (from 0 to 100). *Max Gold Trade Percent: 5% (from 5 to 20). *Max War Rand: 200 (from 50 to 400). *Raze City Prob: 0 (from 0 to 75). *Build Unit Prob: 30 (from 0 to 40). *Close Borders Attitude Change: -4 (from -4 to -2). *Same Religion Attitude Change Limit: 3 (from 2 to 7). *Different Religion Attitude Change: 0 (from -2 to 0). *Favorite Civic Attitude Change Limit: 2 (from 1 to 6). *Demand tribute will be refused when: cautious or worse. *Request help will be refused when: cautious or worse. *Request technology will be refused when: annoyed or worse. *Request strategic bonus will be refused when: cautious or worse. *Request happiness bonus will be refused when: annoyed or worse. *Request health bonus will be refused when: furious. *Request map will be refused when: cautious or worse. *Request declare war will be refused when: cautious or worse. *Request declare war them will be refused when: pleased or worse. *Request stop trading will be refused when: cautious or worse. *Request stop trading them will be refused when: annoyed or worse. *Request adopt civic will be refused when: cautious or worse. *Request convert religion will be refused when: cautious or worse. *Request open borders will be refused when: annoyed or worse. *Request defensive pact will be refused when: pleased or worse. *Request permanent alliance will be refused when: pleased or worse. *Request vassal will be refused when: pleased or worse. *Max War Nearby Power Ratio: 100 (from 80 to 130). *Max War Distant Power Ratio: 50 (from 30 to 100). *Max War Min Adjacent Land Percent: 0 (from 0 to 4). *Limited War Rand: 120 (from 40 to 200). *Limited War Power Ratio: 90 (from 80 to 130). *Dogpile War Rand: 100 (from 25 to 100). *Make Peace Rand: 20 (from 10 to 80). *Demand Rebuked Sneak Prob: 20 (from 0 to 100). *Demand Rebuked War Prob: 25 (from 0 to 50). *Base Attack Odds Change: 0 (from 0 to 6). *Worse Rank Difference Attitude Change: -1 (from -3 to 0). *Better Rank Difference Attitude Change: 0 (from 0 to 4). *Share War Attitude Change Limit: 3 (from 2 to 4). *Vassal Power Modifier: 0 (from -20 to 50). Civilopedia Entry Otto von Bismarck, also known as the "Iron Chancellor," is perhaps the most significant figure in German history. During his long political career, Bismarck unified Germany and founded the German Empire. During his 30-year chancellorship, Germany was transformed from a weak and loose confederation of states into a powerful united country that would come to dominate continental Europe. Descended of a noble Prussian family, Bismarck certainly inherited the arrogance of the Prussian Junker class. He was a poor student who excelled at dueling and was quite a historian and linguist. However, he spent much of his time drinking with the other aristocrats in their exclusive fraternity. Unable to accept the discipline required for military service, Bismarck instead entered the Prussian diplomatic corps, where his skill quickly brought him to the attention of the Prussian Kaiser. Appointed to the German Federal Diet (congress), Bismarck worked to increase Prussian status and power within Germany. Eventually he would rise to the rank of Prussian Prime Minister, where after years of long struggle, he succeeded in unifying Germany under Prussian rule. Bismarck would accomplish this through crafty diplomacy, aided by a series of successful wars. Once Germany was unified, Bismarck's main foreign policy aim was to keep the peace in Europe, mostly by isolating France, Germany's historic enemy. In this he was largely successful. He engineered a war with France in 1870 in order to draw several German states (Bavaria, Baden, and others) into the German empire. In the war, France was quickly defeated. Having achieved his objective of acquiring the German states, Bismarck argued for fairly lenient terms, but the German people and military wanted more, and he was forced to annex the French provinces of Alsace and Loraine. Bismarck knew that this would be trouble in the long run - before the war he had told a colleague, "Supposing we did win Alsace, we would have to maintain our conquest and to keep Strasbourg perpetually garrisoned. This would be an impossible position, for in the end the French would find new allies - and we might have a bad time." This, of course, is exactly what happened in World War I, where Germany had a very bad time indeed. Although an ardent conservative and monarchist, Bismarck was the first European leader to promote a system of social security for workers. He rebuilt the German monetary system, introducing for the first time a single currency. He also helped fabricate the new country's code of civil and commercial law. His benevolence was not universal, however; while emancipating the Jews, Bismarck also enacted laws aimed at restraining Germany's Catholics. As a diplomat, Bismarck's greatest weakness was his single-minded desire to weaken France. He was largely successful during his lifetime, but in doing so he made France into an implacable enemy, which would have dire consequences in the next century. Domestically, Bismarck's great flaw was his indifference to the lives of the German people. As Germany grew in power and stature, the people's lives improved but little. His social security system did some good, but he enacted that mainly to avoid having to make greater concessions to the German Socialists. In total, Bismarck was a great leader, perhaps the greatest European leader of the 19th century. His triumphs greatly outweighed his defeats, and he almost single-handedly turned a group of bickering kingdoms in to a mighty state. The disasters in Germany's future were not so much a result of his policies, but of his successors' inability to adjust to the changing geopolitical climate in Europe. Trivia In the background is the Brandenburg Gate. Category:Expansive Leaders (Civ4) Category:Industrious Leaders (Civ4) Category:German